An Ohio State Medical Board committee will once again consider anxiety and autism spectrum disorder as qualifying conditions for prescribing medical marijuana.
Both were rejected for inclusion in Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program last year. At the time, the state Medical Board said marijuana can provide temporary relief for anxiety but could also cause panic attacks, and expressed concern about marijuana’s effects on childhood development.
The committee will now consider new information provided on both anxiety and autism, as well as Cachexia, a wasting disease that causes patients to lose weight. Board spokeswoman Tessie Pollack says it’s up to experts to weigh in.
“We will gather input from those experts,” Pollack said. “We are also going to gather public comment on these conditions being considered and then, moving forward, we will reconvene and discuss the information that was gathered.”
The panel rejected three other conditions that were turned down last year, saying they didn't feel there was enough new evidence on those to warrant reconsideration.
In all, 27 conditions were submitted for consideration, including one for “being a Bengals or Browns fan.” That condition did not make the cut, either.
